This week's question is based on a blog post about an interview given to the British Catholic weekly, The Tablet.

Hans Kung is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, macular degeneration, and polyarthritis in his hands. Therefore, he has decided at some point to travel to Switzerland in order to be assisted in committing suicide.

His reasoning is threefold: he does not wish to live when there is no quality of life; his life is a gift from God and he intends to give it back to God; and death, like birth, is “our own responsibility.”

If we can prolong life through medical intervention, are we permitted to end it through medical intervention?

Doug Van Doren, the pastor of Plymouth United Church of Christ, responds:

"I feel a bit sheepish about not having a clear answer to such an important ethical question, but I am ambivalent. My basic and underlying sense is that we are not God; we are not the givers and takers of life. My life, my gifts, my time are mine to steward but not mine to own or end. Sometimes people facing a debilitating or terminal illness feel that because they have become dependent or not 'productive,' they are of no value, and thus wish to end their life. Basic to my faith tradition, however, is justification by grace - our worth is not based on how good or productive we are, but rather it is a gift from God.

"On the other hand, if we use medical intervention to save and drastically improve life, the argument for not playing God pretty much goes out the window. That is not to say that we should not use our medical technology for good, it simply acknowledges that we cannot lean too heavily on a simplistic argument that God alone is the giver and taker of life. Finally, in my current state, this is all very theoretical. It is easy to pontificate when I am not the one facing a terminal illness and suffering great pain or lack of any control or quality of life. If a person is in that place, is of sound mind, have had a chance to talk it through with others, have been reassured that they are not a burden, and still make the decision to use medical intervention to hasten their death, who am I to say they are wrong. Maybe life is too precious to cling to at any cost?

Sister Mary Timothy Prokes, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, responds:

"St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: 'Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.' (I Cor. 6: 19-20)

"To assert that one’s birth is 'our own responsibility' is to claim a divine prerogative. Further, it is a delusion. Likewise, to claim responsibility for choosing the time and place of one’s death is also to claim that prerogative. We are not our own. We are creatures willed by a loving God, and receive our souls as a divine gift at conception. Our embodied life is a gift from God and one’s parents.

"To treat the gift of life as a used container to be returned to the giver is a supreme insult. So-called 'quality of life' is not an ethical criterion for ending a human person’s life. No matter how ill, comatose, or helpless, no human person becomes a 'vegetable' or piece of matter to be discarded. Suffering has profound meaning, as Christians gratefully proclaim regarding their Redeemer. Christ’s body, ravaged by torture, was not physically attractive, as Isaiah foretold. Yet, its beauty as redemptive gift is incalculable.

"I grieve for Hans Kung and pray that his heart be changed. May he reverse a choice for the 'silent scream' of self-destruction and know, in Christ, words written by his fellow countryman, Johann S. Bach, in the concluding passage of St. Matthew’s Passion: “Rest softly, rest well! Rest, O exhausted limbs!'"

My response:

I, like Sister Mary Timothy, am intrigued by Mr. Kung's argument that "death, like birth, is 'our own responsibility.' " As far as I know, we were not consulted regarding our birth - we were not asked whether we would like to be born, nor were we consulted regarding the genetic or physical condition of the body we were born into. My religious traditional also believes that life is a gift from God, but it does not necessarily follow from this that we have a religious right to return the gift when we no longer want it.

My tradition does not see suffering as an ideal and therefore gives a a good measure of autonomy to refuse treatment that prolongs life, but does not approve of suicide.

Ethics and Religion Talk is compiled and written by David Krishef, rabbi at Congregation Ahavas Israel in Grand Rapids. Krishef takes questions from readers and shares them with a panel of clergy, then provides the responses in collaboration with community engagement specialist Zane McMillin. The views expressed are those of the panelists and do not necessarily represent the official perspectives of their congregations or denominations. Please submit questions from your own day-to-day encounters to EthicsAndReligionTalk@gmail.com.